Woman dowsed in bleach and slashed repeatedly with knife in 'truly disturbing punishment beating'

Two women broke into a neighbour's house in the middle of the night and poured bleach over her before repeatedly slashing her with a knife in what was described as a "punishment beating."

Kathryn Llewelyn and Teresa Peters-Morgan wore "ghoulish" masks and stayed silent during the attack in Ystradgynlais in the Swansea Valley, which was apparently prompted by a dispute over social media comments.

The victim was left with scars on her face, arms and legs, and refuses to have mirrors in her house as she feels "sick" when she sees her own reflection.

She told Swansea Crown Court she was living a life of "fear, embarrassment and shame."

The court heard the defendants had spent the night of 31 October last year drinking together before making a series of calls to the victim to make sure she was home.

While they remained silent during some of the calls, in others they were heard "cackling with a clown-like laugh."

Shortly before 2am the following morning, they broke into the victim's home and found her asleep on the sofa.

They then threw a bottle of bleach over the neighbour and repeatedly slashed her with a Stanley-type knife.

A neighbour raised the alarm after hearing screams and seeing the victim, dressed in her pyjamas, running from her house.

The victim told the jury how she had been slipping on a mixture of bleach and her own blood as she fled.

The defendants, Llewelyn and Peters-Morgan denied carrying out the attack but were convicted at trial.

Defending Llewellyn, David Leathley described her as a "delightful" woman with "considerable people skills."

He added she was loved by her family and respected in the community.

Mr Leathley said it was "baffling" the mum had inflicted such severe violence over a "paltry squabble" on social media.

Morgan-Peters' defence lawyer told the court the mother-of-four worked with adults with autism and was highly regarded by her employers.

He said the incident did not reflect her in her entirety, adding Morgan-Peters understood the distress she had caused.

Judge Geraint Walters described the case as "truly disturbing", saying he could not understand how a disagreement on social media could lead to the violence inflicted on the victim.

He said: "This was obviously a punishment beating for what you considered to be a slight by your victim", adding he had no doubt the defendants had wanted to inflict even more serious harm than they did.

Both defendants were sentenced to 10 years in prison, of which they will serve two-thirds in custody.

They were also each given life-long restraining orders banning them from contacting the victim.

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